Dad becomes a priest like his son

Edmond Ilg, 62, has been a father since the birth of his son in 1986.

But on June 21 he became a "father" in a completely new sense: Edmond was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark.

It was Father's Day. And making the day more special, it was Edmond's son - Fr. Philip - who conferred his father on ordination.

"Being with Philip is an extraordinary gift, and praying for me and investing myself is the greatest gift," said Edmond. His son was ordained in 2016 for the archdiocese of Washington, DC, and traveled to Newark for the day.

Edmond never thought that he would become a priest. He had a wife, a degree in chemical engineering and a successful career. But after his wife died of cancer in 2011, he began to consider a new vocation.

In the wake of his wife, a family friend wondered aloud that "maybe Ed will become a priest," p. Edmond told CNA. That day, it seemed like a crazy suggestion, but p. Edmond now calls the meeting "extremely prophetic" and said that the observation gave him an idea.

Edmond did not grow up Catholic. He was baptized Lutheran and told CNA that he went to religious services "about half a dozen times" until he was 20 years old. He met his wife in a bar and they started a long distance relationship.

As they went out together, he became a Catholic and attended mass with his future wife Costanza: everyone called her Connie. They got married in 1982.

After Connie's death, Edmond, who together with his family participates in the Neocatechumenal Way, quit his job and began what is called an "itinerary", a period of itinerant missionary work organized by the Neocatechumenate. Edmond told CNA that, at least initially, "the priesthood has never been on my mind."

During his time as a missionary, Edmond was assigned to help in a New Jersey parish and also worked in the prison ministry. While living as a missionary, he began to feel the attraction of the priesthood.

After helping to lead a trip to World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, where he prayed and continued to discern his calling, Edmond called his catechist, saying, "I think I have the call [to the priesthood]" .

He was sent to a seminary affiliated to the Neocatechumenal Way in the Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam, and was finally transferred to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in the Archdiocese of Newark to complete his studies.

Philip told CNA that after the death of his mother, he sometimes wondered if the newly widowed father would become a priest.

"I don't know if I ever said it - because I wanted to wait until it actually happened - but the first thought that came to my mind in the room there, when mom died was that 'my father would become a priest, "said Philip.

"I can't explain where it came from."

Philip said he knew his father "couldn't just sit down and make money" and that "I knew he had a mission."

Philip never spoke to anyone about his thoughts, he said, instead of choosing to place his trust in God.

“I never said a single word about that thought. Because if it came from the Lord, it would bear fruit, ”said Philip.

During his diaconate transition year, Edmond was assigned to serve in the same parish where he had spent time as a missionary. His first temporary assignment, which begins on July 1st, will also be in the parish.

"I arrived [in the parish] without plans for the priesthood, and the cardinal and the other people had no idea where they would assign me, but that's where they ended up sending me - to the place where my vocation began", he told CNA.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, p. Edmond will not find out about his permanent assignment until late in the summer. Normally, priestly assignments in the Archdiocese of Newark begin on July 1st, but this will be delayed until September 1st this year.

The father and son priests told CNA that they were particularly grateful for the community of the Neocatechumenal Way, which Philip described as "the tool that God used to save my family".

The Ilg were introduced to the Catholic spiritual renewal program during a tumultuous period in their marriage, shortly after the loss of an infant son during childbirth.

The vocations of father and son "did not occur in a sort of isolated environment," explained Philip. "It happened because there was a community that nurtured the faith and allowed the faith to grow."

"Over the years, I have truly seen God's faithfulness through the Neocatechumenal Way," said Philip. Without community support, Philip told CNA not to think that neither he nor his father would be priests.

"If it hadn't been for a faith community that nourished us in faith and formed the body in which it was able to manage us," he said, they wouldn't have had such an extraordinary Father's Day.